Usain Bolt Unveils Tiny E-Car as Sprinting Legend Turns Investor

(Bloomberg) -- Usain Bolt unveiled a small electric car with a swappable battery at a Paris tech fair, as the former Olympic sprinter makes his first steps as an entrepreneur and investor.

The Jamaican, who still holds the world record in the 100 meters, is the co-founder of Bolt Mobility, which this week started deploying shared electric scooters in the French capital. It has now introduced the “B-Nano,” a tiny electric car that customers can order for delivery starting next year.

Bolt, who is 6 foot 5 inches, showed off the vehicle that’s about half his height on stage at the Viva Tech conference. It can seat two people (one behind the other), is designed for short distances in urban areas with dense traffic, and uses a battery that can be swapped out to avoid long charging.

“This is my first investment, and I’m taking it one step at a time,” Bolt said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Technology is the future for sure -- it’s part of changing the world.”

While Bolt didn’t disclose the exact size and specifics of the car, investor Shervin Pishevar of Sofreh Capital, who was also on stage, said 4 B-Nanos can fit in a standard parking spot, and the vehicle can pass through a standard doorway.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marie Mawad in Paris at mmawad1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Stefan Nicola